Exlusive! Kunal Thakur opens up about his physical transformation for Glory: 'I gained 10 kgs'

Kunal Thakur and Mukti Mohan (Photos via Instagram)

Actor Kunal Thakur is currently basking in all the praise and success of his show Glory. The actor was seen in a different avatar as he stepped into the boxing ring, playing a professional and feared boxer. He spoke to mid-day about his role and how getting into it was a challenge in many ways.

Kunal Thakur on learning Haryanavi for Glory

Kunal reveals that he had to master the Haryanavi dialect for his role in Glory. He recalled how his wife Mukti Mohan helped him with the dialect for the auditions, which eventually landed him the role. "I didn't know Haryanvi, but my wife Mukti helped me with the dialect and with making the script, adding a few things in the script for the audition. She helped me with not just delivering what is written. So, there was some improv, and there were some intuitive actions in the audition, which sort of helped me get shortlisted. After that, I had a meeting with the director."

Later, he reveals how once onboarded, the team had a coach who trained him, Pulkit and Divyendu for the language. He shared that after working out and boxing training, he would train for the language every day. "They had the best dialect coach, Kamal Deep ji, who used to come to my house after boxing training and after the weight training," he shared.

Kunal Thakur about his physical transformation for Glory

Talking of his physical transformation for the role, Kunal adds, "There was fat loss, there was muscle gain, both simultaneously happened. So first, we trained for muscle loss and weight loss. Then the transformation of putting on the muscles started. It was a gradual process. If somebody says, 'I can transform your body within two months,' I wouldn't believe that can happen. It takes a good six to seven, eight months."

Talking of how he had to change his eating habits, he added, "And eating regularly was also quite a lot because I don't eat that much in daily life. Basically, I eat the roti sabzi and all, but for the transformation, I was eating chicken every day. I was sitting at a comfortable 69-70 kgs earlier, and I reached 81 kgs for the role. It's almost like a 10 kg."

Further opening about an injury he sustained while training, Kunal adds, "And in the middle of all of this, I had a lower back injury, and I had to train through the injury also."

After months of rigorous training and workouts, what's one thing that stayed with him? "My back pain, my back injury, it's still going on," he says with a laugh. On a serious note, "I think something that's going to stay with me for the longest time is the fact that now I know how to box," he adds.